Duck can't stand up

[Miss Anne Thrope]

Hi. I am brand new here and haven't even read any of the posts yet, so I apologize for just barging in with this question, BUT ... I have a duck that cannot stand up. She's just 3 years old. All three of the ducks have been having a bit of trouble getting out of the pond because of the ice around the edges, but last night, my son had to go down and pick this one up out of the water to put her in their house for the night. And this morning, she could just barely crawl out of the house. I gave her some food and water right where she still sits, and she did eat a bit and drank.

She TRIES to get up, even tries to use her bill, but she just falls onto her chest. None of the vets where I live (rural farm country) will even answer any questions about ducks (It's just a duck!!), and the only avian vet around is away until next week.

Can anyone tell me what might be wrong with this duck and what, if anything, I can do for her?

 

[ChickenToes]

Well I'm probably not going to be much help, but here is what I would do in your situation.

Look at the leg, if it looks odd or out of place it may be broken. Try moving it around, if the duck is in obvious pain than the leg may be broken or severely sprained. Try splinting it with something so the duck can keep its weight off the leg.

If it doesn't seem broken, see if looks red and inflamed and/or hot to the touch. If so, then it could be infected. Find an antibiotic to give the duck to help clear up any infection.

Hope that was helpful! Good luck!

 

[Miss Anne Thrope]

Thank you! I would say that neither leg seems to be broken. But there may have been redness there, which didn't register as unusual to me. But I must admit that since I don't really see their feet much, I don't know what's normal. She is locked up in her house for the night, but I will check for heat in the morning.

Thanks again!!

Edited to add: And thank you to whoever moved this to the right place. Like I said, I'm brand new here and haven't had time to learn the protocol before posting this question.

This looks like a great place for bird lovers. I've got chickens, too!

 

[luvmychix]

I can not help you but would like to say

and have FUN! This is a great site with lots of people who know more than i do so maybe someone can help you more.

 

[xke4]

Hello and welcome. I have a 3 year old Mallard that loses all use of her legs for about 24 hours after enduring stress.
The first time it happened was after I had to chase her around the vegetable garden in order to bring her in for the night. It seems to be a neurological deficit and if I dragged out all my old nursing textbooks, I could probably discover exactly the sequence of events that precipitate this phenomenon. But I am too lazy and just accept it, and try and keep her stress to a minimum.

 

[WriterofWords]

This would happen to my White Pekin when she got egg bound. I'd hold her in a warm towel and massage her abdomen and hips and she'd get her feeling back and walk after she laid. I didn't catch it one night and she died, watch your duck carefully!

 

[m00res]

Hello,

We had a duck that had a similar issue. Her leg did not appear to be broken, but she couldn't use it. We took her to an avian vet who gave us two options...xrays and probably surgery. $$$$ Or, isolate her and reduce her mobility on the ground for two weeks and check her out again (we chose the latter). He suspected that it was a knee injury (or elbow? dunno). Anyway, his take was that ducks are prone to leg injuries, but that they heal quickly. We monitored her to be sure it wasn't getting worse and that her energy was good. We kept her indoors in a large dog crate while she healed. We did daily "physical therapy" in the tub. He said that swimming was good for her legs to heal.

She actually got better in about a week of isolation and immobility. I don't normally take a wait and see approach to things so I was pretty skeptical. Nonetheless, it worked. Just food for thought. I hope this is helpful.

 

[Miss Anne Thrope]

OK, thanks again, folks. We brought the duck in this morning and set her up with food and water in the basement:

Her feet and legs appear normal, so my plan is to just keep her comfortable and warm and see what happens. Maybe she's just sick and weak? Or maybe, like m00res's duck, there's an injury I just can't feel.

I'm going to just let rest for a bit, then I'll see if she wants to go for a swim.

 

[m00res]

Awww...she looks comfortable. Poor baby. She's lucky to have such a nice mommy. I hope it goes well for you.